


Filling in the Gaps - The Clinic

by Thefishoutofwater



Series: Filling in the Gaps [11]
Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: F/M, Reminiscing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-13
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2019-03-03 23:56:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13352181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thefishoutofwater/pseuds/Thefishoutofwater





	Filling in the Gaps - The Clinic

“The problem with the interns and residents we have today is that they have appalling bedside manners.” Meredith Grey complained as pulled through the barriers into the hospital staff parking lot.

“I’m not sure that’s the only problem with the interns.” Amelia retorted from her space in the passenger seat, “This used to be a great teaching hospital,” Meredith continued as though her sister in law hadn’t spoken, “we were rotated through all sorts of specialities, we ran scut,”

“Lots of scut.” Alex piped up form the backseat. Meredith, eyes crinkling with humour met his eyes in her mirror and continued,

“Some of us more than others hey Alex? But no, we ran serious scut, we sewed lacerations in the clinic, we did enemas. We learned to listen to patients. We honed the quick-thinking skills you need in an OR down there and in the ER.  This lot today they don’t have that. Yesterday I had to step in twice with residents, not even interns saying the wrong things to patients families and did you hear about the problems Maggie had last week with Cross?”

Jo Wilson sat in the backseat quietly livid as she watched her boyfriend nod along with Meredith. She elbowed him sharply as the engine was switched off. He shrugged at her as she pointed at herself with an angry finger.

“We hated it though Mer,” He tuned away from Jo’s charades and started to get out of the car, “we’d do anything to get away and up into surgery.”

“Exactly!” Meredith sounded triumphant although Jo wasn’t quite sure why, “we hated lots of things about intern year and our first years of residency but they made us better doctors. I’m going to talk to Webber. If the interns and residents all did a shift or two there maybe we could open an extra day. I mean Izzie’s money was never going to last forever.”

Amelia looked surprised,

“Izzie? Your friend Izzie?”

“Do we have to talk about this?” Alex was uncomfortable as they walked through the front doors together,

“Yes. Well Izzie who started with us. I’d not say friend since she packed up and ran for the hills.” Meredith’s tone stung with the remembered rejection,

“Izzie Stevens?” Bailey fell into step with the group as they headed towards the locker rooms, “There’s a blast from the past.”

“I said do we have to talk about this?” Alex was more vehement with his second effort.

“Why are we talking about Izzie Stevens?” the chief ignored Alex as he muttered,

“We weren’t.” Alex made a last ditch attempt to close the conversation down.

“We were talking about the clinic.” Meredith continued as if he hadn’t spoken, “I was saying it’s a shame the surgical interns and residents don’t typically spend time there anymore. It was a….” she stopped for a second, “useful learning tool.”

“I loved it down there.” Bailey paused at the door reminiscing, “We did good work there. I think you might just have a point Grey.” She stopped looking around at the surgeons surrounding her, “Wilson!”

Jo startled to find the patented Miranda Bailey stare bearing down on her, “Go grab two interns. I don’t care which and meet me in the clinic in ten minutes.” A pause, “What are you waiting for? Go!” A second pause as she watched Jo scuttle off without another word. She turned on the other three, “And you three. No patients to see? You can come with me if you want?”

She smirked as all three made hurried excuses heading into the attendings lounge.

 

Several hours later a harried Jo Wilson headed back to the Chief who was standing a rare smile on her face chatting with one of the nurses,

“Wilson!” she called, “this was a great idea. Isn’t this fun. Seeing patients, practicing medicine. Helping people in need.”

Jo frowned, “I was seeing patients yesterday. Yesterday I didn’t have to change my clothes three times because I’d been thrown up on.”

“Oh live a little Wilson!” Bailey laughed, flipping through her phone. She glanced at the younger doctor, her tone turning serious, “I would have thought Dr Wilson, with your early history you might have appreciated being able to help those without appropriate insurance or the means to help themselves.”

Jo took the scolding for what it was,

“Dr Bailey?” she was apprehensive, “Can I ask why did Dr Grey and Dr Shepherd mention Dr Stevens when talking about the clinic this morning?

Bailey was surprised,

“She provided the first chunk of funding for it. Just shy of £8.5 million dollars in the end. Let me get the plans approved and the place opened.”

Jo goggled at her boss, “I always assumed it was named after a rich old guy.”

“Not at all. Denny was not old,” Miranda smiled softly lost in thought, “a long term heart patient. A lovely kind man. Caused me no end of issues but a good guy.” She looked at Jo who was as confused as when the day had started,

“Stephens was one of his doctors. They got close. Too close. Gave me all sorts of issues but anyway in the end they got engaged,” she looked sympathetically at Jo, “this was before she and Karev. Well more truthfully it was between times with her and Karev, but that’s a different conversation and one I am not having with you. They got engaged and then he died. His father insisted Izzie have the money and she couldn’t stand it. Sat on for weeks until in the end she founded this place. A fitting memorial.”

She stopped lost in thought as she remembered the awful night Danny had died. Izzie spitting out the truth of what she had done, what the others had done everything they could to protect her from. She herself frozen next to the Chief as they both watched them take that slow steady walk down the stairs to the lobby. If she had not known before that this group of interns was different she had then as she had watched the two men fall into step behind the distraught young woman. She quirked a smile as she thought about poor lost O’Malley and how far Karev had come in the intervening years.

She looked carefully at Wilson,

“I was disappointed in Stephens when she left. She could have been a great doctor and they’d all fought so hard for her; When Denny died, when she got sick, left. It’s why I was surprised to hear her name this morning. Still it’s all worked out in the end. That’s the thing about training interns Wilson. You give them what you can but they’ll make mistakes anyway. They’ll do their own thing. Make foolish choices. Your job is to train them. To ground them and then step back and let them fly. If you’re really lucky you get a Yang or a Grey who’ll win awards or an O’Malley or a Karev who defy all expectations and go and do something extraordinary.”

She shook her head slightly, surprised at what she had just confessed to,

“Go on then Wilson. Go grab one an intern and train them. There are patients waiting.”


End file.
